Clare Demerse

Clare Demerse researches and analyzes government policies to address climate change. She works with a range of stakeholders and acts as a spokesperson in the media.

Clare joined the Pembina Institute's Climate Change Program in 2006 and became Associate Director of the program in 2009. The program is a centre of expertise on Canadian greenhouse gas reduction policy, with a particular focus on carbon pricing.

Clare previously worked on Parliament Hill and holds a master's degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa. She is a 2008-2009 Gordon Foundation Global Fellow.

With consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline proposal heading into the home stretch, a parade of Canadian politicians have been making the trek to the U.S. to try to convince the Obama Administration of the pipeline's merits.The good news is that the recent visitors -- from Premiers Redford and Wall to federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver -- now acknowledge that Canada's environmental record is crucial to the upcoming U.S. decision.The bad news is that there are some gaping holes in that record.

Sometimes I'm asked to justify why we put so much emphasis on one relatively small piece of Canada's emissions puzzle. For starters, if "business as usual" proceeds, emissions from the oil sands will triple from 2005 to 2020.